Multiple tool holders



June 8, 1965 J. F. NELSON MULTIPLE TOOL HOLDERS Filed Dec. 16, 1963 l|lll. l l l l IllI Illlll Ill mvsmon John E Nelson His A rr'y UnitedStates Patent 3,187,902 MULTIPLE TOOL HOLDERS John F. Nelson, DesPlaines, Ill., assignor to Illinois Tool Works Inc., Chicago, 11]., acorporation of Delaware Filed Dec. 16, 1963, Ser. No. 330,938 3 Claims.(Cl. 211-60) This invention relates to supporting devices, and moreparticularly, to a one-piece bracket adapted to be mounted on an uprightpeg board or plate for supporting tools and the like.

The bracket contemplated by the present invention is particularly,though not exclusively, designed for retaining tools in a securefashion, and for permitting ready access to the tools when desired.Thus, the bracket must not only provide a strong structural support forthe articles which it supports while preventing unauthorized removalthereof, but it must also facilitate quick mounting and removal of thearticles from the bracket It is, therefore, an object of the presentinvention to provide an improved one-piece bracket which is adapted toretain a plurality'of tools and the like, and prevent removal therefromexcept by a lifting action.

Another object in accordance with the present invention is the provisionof a one-piece bracket having an improved structural arrangement forstrengthening the article supporting arms of the bracket.

Brackets of the aforementioned type are also preferably assembled to anapertured peg board or plate so that they can be easily shifted from onelocation to another. As a result, the brackets must be quickly assembledto and held in a relatively permanent fashionto the peg board whilepermitting easy removal thereof.

Thus, it is another object of the present invention to provide animproved one-piece bracket which can be quickly and easily assembled 'toa supporting plate, and thereafter held in detachably securerelationship thereto.

Still another object of the present invention is the provision of abracket having an improved fastening means for detachably securing thebracket to an upright aper- 'tured supporting plate in order toaccommodate changes in the position and location thereof.

While improved structural support of and fastening of the bracket areimportant aspects of the present invention, consideration has also beengiven to the cost of manufacture and prolonged usage for a bracket ofthe aforementioned type. In view of this, it is another object of thepresent invention to provide a plastic bracket which can be easily andeconomicallymanufacturedas an integral one-piece unit by present moldingtechniques, and which is substantially non-corrosive and non-chipping inits use.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will becomeapparent from the following description and the accompanying drawingswherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view, partly in section, of a bracket assemblyincorporating features of the present invention;

FIG; 2 is a front elevational view of the bracket illustrated in FIG. 1;1

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the bracket, and showing the novelfastening means for the bracket. as associated with a supporting plate;

J in FIGS. 1-3;

. noted that the .second brace means derives substantial FIG. 5 is a topplan view of a modified form of V bracket incorporatingfeatures of thepresent invention as mounted to a supporting plate;

FIG. 6 is a side elevational view of the bracket shown fifi' FIG. 5;

ice

FIG. 7 is a front elevational view of the bracket illustrated in FIGS.5-6.

Referring now more specifically to the drawings wherein like parts aredesignated by the same numerals throughout the various figures, abracket assembly 10 is shown in FIG. 1. The bracket assembly comprisesan apertured supporting plate 20, which is usually mounted in an uprightposition, and a one-piece bracket 30 which is mounted thereto. Since theapertured supporting plate 20 is designedto provide support for thebracket 30, it must be made of a relatively stiif material toaccommodate the bracket and the articles supported thereby.

The bracket itself is preferably made of a tough, durable, and resilientplastic material so that it can be easily and economically manufacturedby present molding techniques, while providing sufiicient strength andenabling prolonged usage of the bracket. Also, as will readily appearhereinafter, the resiliency of the plastic material aids in detachablysecuring the bracket to an apertured supporting plate.

The bracket 30 shown in FIGS. 14 generally comprises a substantiallyelongated body having a plurality of article supporting members 32projectingin a substantially horizontal direction when the bracket ismounted to an upright supporting plate. A pair of such articlesupporting members cooperate together to receive and restrict downwardmovement ofarticles such as tools mounted therewithin. From aninspection of FIGS. 1-4, it will be observed that there are three pairsof article supporting members for receiving articles at three dis-.tinct locations. At the end of each of the article supporting members32, there is provided an upstanding knob 34 which prevents unauthorizedremoval of the articles from the free extremities of the articlesupporting members. It is ,thus necessary to lift articles over theupstanding knobs34 in order to remove them from the brackets.

In order to provide support for each of the article supporting members32, the bracket is further provided with first-and second brace means36, 38 respectively for each article supporting member to providehorizontal support for the article supporting members throughout theirlength. The first brace means 36 essentially has a plate-like shape, andis located in the vicinity of a cooperating pair of article supportingmembers as will be evident from an inspection of FIG. 2. Extendingsubstantially normal to andcarried by the first brace means 36 is asecond brace means 38 which underlies each of the article supportingmembers 32 for a portion of their length so as to retain the articlesupporting members in a substantially horizontal plane. This uniquearrangement of parts enables the second brace means 38 to be supportedby the first brace means 36 and the aperture supporting plate 20 whileproviding underlying support for the article supporting members. It isalso to be support from the first brace means on each side thereof so asto insure support for and prevent lateral movement of the articlesupporting members.

Reference is nowmade to FIG. 3 for the novel bracket fastening meanscontemplated by the present invention. Extending in a directiongenerally opposite to the article supporting members are a plurality oflug portions 40 which are adapted to be mounted within apertures 22 ofthe supporting plate '20. It will be noted that each article supportingmember is associated with at least one of the lug portions 40 so as tobe individually supported thereby. The lug portions thus provide supportfor each article supporting member in addition to the underlying supportgiven by the first and second brace means 36, 38.

The outermost lug portions are angularly offset from one another so asto permit deflection thereof when apertures.

inserted within apertures 22 of the plate 20. These outermost lugportions are shown in the drawings as lying within the same horizontalplane, but being offset from planes which lie parallel to the projectingarticle supporting members 32. If desired, these lug portions may beangularly offset from a horizontal plane, or'other suitable arrangementsmay be provided which will permit deflection of the outermostlugportions when inserted within the aperture 22.

The free extremities of the outermost lug portions are tapered tofacilitate entry within'the aperture 22, and for urging deflectionthereof as they are inserted within the Spaced inwardly from the taperedend of the lug portions is a notch 44 which provides a shoulder means 46for engaging the rear face of the peg board or panel 20 to preventunauthorized removal of the bracket.

The application of the bracket to the panel is generally accomplished bylining up holes 22 of the upright apertured supporting plate 20 with thelug portions 4%, and then forcing the lug portions within the apertures.The apertures of the peg board or panel which cooperate with theoutermost lug portions shown in the'drawings must be spaced apart .adistance greater than the major part of such lug portions in order thatthey will be deflected upon being inserted within such apertures. Whenthe lug portions are inserted completely within the peg board or panel20, the outermost lug'portions will snap back to their initial locationand permit the shoulder'means 46' to engage the rear face of the panel.Separation of the bracket from the panel may be easily accomplishedmerely by exerting a force on the article supporting members 32 so as tocam the shoulders 46 of the outermost lug portions against an edge ofthe associated apertures. Additional force will cause the shoulders tobe positioned within the apertures for subsequent removal of thebracket.

In FIGS. 5-7, a modified form of the bracket is shown, and is designatedby the numeral 30a. The suffix a has been employed in these figures todesignate like parts of the FIGS. 1-4 embodiment. Substantially the onlydifference between the FIGS. 1-4, and the FIGS. 5-7 embodiment is thedesign of the article supporting members and the support which is giventhereto.

The article supporting members in this embodiment are designated by thenumeral 32a, and generally comprise an annular ring in which thearticles aremounted so as to prevent lateral and downward movementthereof. Also, instead of'using a pair of second brace means for acooperating pair of article supporting members 32, there is provided asingle second brace means 38a for each article supporting member whichwill give the necessary support to each of the article supportingmembers. Thus, when articles are mounted within the annular articlesupporting members 32a, they will be restrained from lateral anddownward movement and supported in much the same tural arrangementforsupporting articles while being releasably held to an aperturedsupporting plate in a novel and unique manner. The tough, durable andresilient, yet

easily moldable material from which the bracket is made enables thebracket m be manufactured in a quick and" ,eflicient manner whileproviding an extremely long life.

The configuration 'of'the bracket is, of course, not

I limited to that shown in the drawings, and may have more or lesslocations for mounting articles to the bracket than that shown in thedrawings. The relative spacing of the article supporting membersr from.each other or the sizeof the annular supporting rings will be dictated.by the tools which are adapted to be mounted therewithin so as torestrain the articles from any downward or lateral movement. Theoutermost lug portions may be angularly offset with respect to pneanother in any suitable manner which permits deflection of such lugportions when inserted within apertures of the supporting plate. It isalso possible to use such outermost lug members as a means forrestricting separation of the bracket from a supporting panel having awidth greater than the length of the lug portions. In such a case, theoutermost lug portions will yieldingly engage the peripheral wall of theapertures instead of the rear face of the panel to hold the bracket tothe panel.

While the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been shownanddescribed herein, it is obvious that many structural details may bechanged without departing from the spirit and scope of the appendedclaims.

I claim:

1. A one-piece bracket made of plastic material adapted to be mounted ona complementary upright apertured supporting plate, comprising anelongated body having a plurality of pairs of article supporting membersprojecting horizontally therefrom each being U-s haped in cross sectionand having an upstanding knob at their free extremities, the articlesupporting members in each pair cooperating with each other to restrainarticles from lateral and downward movement when mounted therebeincluding a plurality of spaced lug portions projecting from saidelongated bodyin a direction generally opposite to said articlesupporting members for reception within a plurality of apertures of saidapertured supporting plate, each pair of said article supporting memberspositioned in cooperating relationship with at least one of said lugportions so as to be individually supported thereby.

' 2. A one-piece bracket made of a tough, resilient and durable plasticmaterial adapted to bemounted on an upright apertured supporting plate,comprising an elongated body having a plurality of article supportingmembers projecting horizontally therefrom and being U-shaped in section,each articlesupportingmember consisting of an annular member ofpredetermined size to prevent lateral and downward movement of articlesmounted therein, means providing horizontal supportfor each articlesupporting member and including first and second brace means, said firstbrace means adapted to rest against said apertured supporting plate,said second brace means extending normal to said first brace means andunderlying said article supporting members for a portion of their lengthto provide support thereto, and means for securing said bracket to saidapertured supporting plate including a'plurality of spaced lug portionsadapted to be received within corresponding apertures formed in saidapertured supporting plate, each of said article supporting membersbeing positioned in cooperative relationship with at least one of saidlug portions so as to be individually supported thereby, the outermostlug portions at oppositeends of said bracket being angularly offset fromone another and received within apertures positioned from each other tocause deflection of said outermost lug portions when inserted therein soas to detachably, retain said bracket to said apertured supportingplate, said outermost lug portions also being provided with a taperedentering end portion to facilitate entry within said apertures and anotch spaced inwardlyfrom said entering end portion to provide ,ashoulder means therebetween, said shoulder means adapted to engage therear face of the complementary apertured supporting plate to preventremoval of tary upright apertured supporting plate, comprising anelongated body member having a plurality of pairs of article supportingmembers rejecting horizontally therefrom each being U-shaped in crosssection and having an upstanding knob at their free extremities, thearticle supporting members in each pair cooperating with each other torestrain articles from lateral and downward movement when mountedtherebetween, means providing horizontal support for each articlesupporting member and including first and second brace means, said firstbrace means comprising a plate-like support adapted to rest against saidapertured supporting plate, said second brace means including a pair ofarms each of which extend normal to and underlie one of the articlesupporting members in each pair at an inner extremity thereof to providesupport to while preventing lateral deflection of said members, each armtraversing the first brace means for the entire height thereof, andmeans for securing said bracket to said apertured supporting plateincluding aplurality of spaced lug portions adapted to be receivedWithin a plurality of apertures formed in said apertured supportingplate, each pair of said article supporting members being positioned incooperative relationship with at least one of said lug portions so as tobe individually supported thereby, the outermost lug portions atopposite ends of said bracket being angularly ofiset from one anotherand received within apertures positioned from each other to causedeflection of said outermost lug portions when inserted therein so as todetachably retain said bracket to said apertured supporting plate, saidoutermost lug portions also being provided with a tapered entering endReferences Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,312,985 3/43Bales 248223 2,615,577 10/52 Bartleman 211-60 2,879,899 3/59 Shenkin 2112,988,315 6/61 Saxe 248 2 23 2,996,192 8/61 Dell et a1. 21149 CLAUDE A.LE ROY, Primary Examiner.

FRANK L. ABBOTT, Examiner.

1. A ONE-PIECE BRACKET MADE OF PLASTIC MATERIAL ADAPTED TO BE MOUNTED ONA COMPLEMENTARY UPRIGHT APERTURED SUPPORTING PLATE, COMPRISING ANELONGATED BODY HAVING A PLURALITY OF PAIRS OF ARTICLE SUPPORTING MEMBERSPROJECTING HORIZONTALLY THEREFROM EACH BEING U-SHAPED IN CROSS SECTIONAND HAVING AN UPSTANDING KNOB AT THEIR FREE EXTREMITIES, THE ARTICLESUPPORTING MEMBERS IN EACH PAIR COOPERATING WITH EACH OTHER TO RESTRAINARTICLES FROM LATERAL AND DOWNWARD MOVEMENT WHEN MOUNTED THEREBETWEEN,MEANS PROVIDING HORIZONTAL SUPPORT FOR EACH ARTICLE SUPPORTING MEMBERAND INCLUDING FIRST AND SECOND BRACE MEANS, SAID FIRST BRACE MEANSADAPTED TO REST AGAINST SAID APERTURED SUPPORTING PLATE, SAID SECONDBRACE MEANS CARRIED BY SAID FIRST BRACE MEANS AND EXTENDING NORMALTHERETO IN UNDERLYING RELATIONSHIP TO SAID ARTICLE SUPPORTING MEMBERS TOUPHOLD AND PROVIDE SUPPORT THERETO, AND MEANS FOR SECURING SAID BRACKETTO SAID SUPPORTING PLATE INCLUDING A PLURALITY OF SPACED LUG PORTIONSPROJECTING FROM SAID ELONGATED BODY IN A DIRECTION GENERALLY OPPOSITE TOSAID ARTICLE SUPPORTING MEMBERS FOR RECEPTION WITHIN A PLURALITY OFAPERTURES OF SAID APERTURED SUPPORTING PLATE, EACH PAIR OF SAID ARTICLESUPPORTING MEMBERS POSITIONED IN COOPERATING RELATIONSHIP WITH AT LEASTONE OF SAID LUG PORTION SO AS TO BE INDIVIDUALLY SUPPORTED THEREBY.